Victory at Last!

I have finally accomplished something I have been trying for 4 years to do. I have successfully talked my parents into going on a cruise! I first tried getting them to commit to the Christmas Cruise but the 4 days at sea in the middle of winter were too much for my Mom to get over. So, I tried something else.

Here's how it went....

I was talking with my Mom about the July 4th cruise and how excited we were to be going. I also told her that I would be needing someone to watch the girls while we were gone. Although, she has a phobia about water, like a good Mom she always asked about our upcoming trips and did it again. I told her the suspected ports of call and how much I wished they would return to Boston for the 4th of July celebration on the 4th, and the other fun things we would be doing, visiting NY before etc. "Wow, Nina, that sounds like a really fun cruise. It's only 6 days? How many days are you at sea? Oh really? Only that much? 4th of July in New England is something I have always wanted to do. Are you very far from land? I mean, if something happened how fast could the Coast Guard get there? Really? Well, what if your Dad and I came and watched the girls for you on the ship? This sounds like something I could handle. How big is the boat (relax, she called it a ship later) again?

The fact that the ship is never far from the protection of the US Coast Guard made a big difference. (I think she just watched "The Guardian" again for the 10th time) So, it's official, my parents and my 2 siblings are coming with us for the 4th of July cruise! We will be forfeiting our "alone" vacation but I think it's worth it! The cruise experience is going to be totally new to them. However, both my parents are very outgoing and like trying new things and meet new people. (Just don't get my dad talking about his new Bio-fuel furnace!) So, I think they are really going to have fun.

So, I'm curious, have any of the rest of you had a hard time winning a family member or friend over to trying a cruise vacation? How did you do it? Did they end up having a good time?

Nina, that's great! My parents were VERY resistant to the idea of cruising. Not a fear of water but a fear of being confined on a boat, for 7 days with thousands of strangers. It took me three years of begging and pleading and they finally agreed to give it a try but, only after at least a dozen positive review from their friends...

So...here we go...on Carnival Destiny out of San Juan no less, during the holidays. They LOVED it!! They wanted to do everything and anything!! If there was an auction, class, game or show...they were there! My Dad got pulled up on stage for "Bed Time Story" and I never laughed so hard in my life!! We had a wonderful Christmas sailing and, we've sailed nearly ever Christmas since then.

Just be persistent - sooner or later they'll cave and give it a try!

Way to go Nina!!

Thanks great Nina! Can't wait to see your girls, you always pick out such cute dresses, I'm sure they're going to be adorable on QM2!!

Way cool Nina, congratulations on getting your parents on-board! I hope they LOVE it!

Congratulations Nina! Can't wait to meet you and your family!!

Nina, hopefully in the meantime you'll get them to join us for Christmas!

I'm genuinely curious.

What on earth is the obsession with being near the US Coastguard? What on earth could they do to assist a ship such as Queen Mary 2?

Matthew

Kindlychap wrote:

I'm genuinely curious.

What on earth is the obsession with being near the US Coastguard? What on earth could they do to assist a ship such as Queen Mary 2?

Matthew

Other than radio for additional help, I can't imagine much else...

For my Mom (who just adores the Coast Guard) just knowing that they were out there keeping an eye on things and able to quickly call for help if something did go wrong makes a big difference in her confidence. She has read enough about them (she's an avid reader) to know just how hard they work to come up with solutions to difficult emergencies. Such as coordinating ships to assist life boat rescues and providing immediate stabilizing medical attention.

AmbianceTraveler wrote:

For my Mom (who just adores the Coast Guard) just knowing that they were out there keeping an eye on things and able to quickly call for help if something did go wrong makes a big difference in her confidence. She has read enough about them (she's an avid reader) to know just how hard they work to come up with solutions to difficult emergencies. Such as coordinating ships to assist life boat rescues and providing immediate stabilizing medical attention.

How on earth could anyone be better off medically on a Coastguard cutter than the Queen Mary 2? This is just silly. Cunarders tend to be the ships that do the rescuing, not that are rescued.

Matthew

The comment "immediate stabilizing medical attention" would be in the context of someone being rescued from a life boat. The coast guard also assists with evacuation at sea when necessary. Many of the Coast Guard cutters can cruise at speeds twice as fast as the QM2 and would be able to transfer someone to the closest adequate hospital much faster if the need arose.

Regardless, the point of this thread was that my family is finally deciding to cruise the side point was that we would be close enough to land and the overseeing eye of the Coast Guard to convince my Mom that it was a safe itinerary I'm sure once she fully realizes the immense size of the QM2 and her advanced facilities (which is just very hard to imagine for someone who has never been aboard a boat larger than 50ft) that none of this will matter to her as she will be having such a wonderful time as to not give it another concerned thought.